Pumpkin Spice Whole Wheat Pancakes:)

These baby's are sooooo good, and good for you! Pumpkin has so many wonderful nutritional things going for it. I make these pancakes sometimes several times a week, smothered in maples syrup and butter...mmmmmmm:). Here is the recipe below incase you want to try these out.

P.S. Don't judge the pictures I took, I am not a photographer okay!

Pumpkin Spice Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 1/2 C. Whole wheat flour
1/2  C. Organic sugar (or regular is fine too)
2 TSP. Cinnamon
1/2 TSP. Nutmeg
1 TSP. sea salt (if using regular salt cut amount in half)
2 TSP. Baking powder
2 TSP. Vanilla
2 Eggs
1 1/4 C. Whole milk (apple juice is yummy too)
A heaping 1/2 C. pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

Mix all dry ingredients first together in bowl, then mix in wet, stir and cook!

Trick or treating, pumpkin carve, baby's room.........And a new Holiday!

That was a loaded description! I am lazy and just want to put this all into one post so stay with my here....

First off, we finally got around to carving our pumpkins Friday morning. The girls loved it up until scooping out the pumpkin innards, and then they were done. Then on Saturday we took the girls to the neighborhood right by us called Shenandoah?? (I think that's how it's spelled) That is where Nathans aunts, and grandma live.....can I just tell you what a magical Halloween experience that was? Every house was decked out in awesome Halloween decor, it felt like we were walking on the back lot of a movie set! Trick or treaters were everywhere with families filling the streets! They had these grim reapers walking around all dressed up on huge stilts with baskets full of candy. Becca and Ray could not get enough, Rachel kept saying "another house, another house"! We ended the night by stopping off at this cute old lady's house in our ward that makes homemade doughnuts! Heavens, they were delicious! Needless to say I have not enjoyed Halloween this much since I was a kid....maybe even more. Then that night Nathan brought our lit pumpkins into the house, the girls requested that the pumpkins they carved go into their bedroom, so in they went. Nathan kept ours out by us to watch a scary movie by. We watched the "Burbs" and ate way too much candy!

Today I am realizing something.....Our new baby is going to be here sooooo soon! And I am not ready yet! I have been in major nesting mode lately. Today I am feeling ambitious, and I think I will get Halloween put away, and put Christmas up! Yes you heard me right. Hey you go to all the trouble and time to get it all put up and then a month later you have to take it all down? Not at our house. I have decided that I want to enjoy it longer since I go to so much trouble putting it all out. Plus when baby comes I know I will be too tired to get it out. Don't get my wrong we LOVE Thanksgiving in our house, and we are not skipping over it by any means, but......
1- I don't decorate for Thanksgiving
2- I love nothing more than to have our Thanksgiving dinner by candlelight and a glowing Christmas tree :).

Anyway Here a few pictures from the weekend events, and some from the babys room! Enjoy....

Rachel looking out at the first real snowfall this season

Getting ready to carve!!

Babys room

That white blotchy looking stuff on the tree is the light from outside

Tah Dah! I made the artwork in the room, I cut our felt letters and birds and put them on beautiful turquoise paper. I really love how it turned out..

Sunday was the perfect day until bedtime came.....

Sunday was a great day, it was just a nice lazy stormy day. Nathan took Becca to church and I stayed home with Rachel because she had the flu the previous day. When they got home from church, we had a nice lunch watched Garfield Halloween, and The Legends of Sleepy Hallow (cartoon version). Then that evening Nathan made up some Halloween Bingo cards, the girls loved this game, especially when they won candy at the end. Then Nana and Grandpa Lord came for a really nice visit, we had dinner and kiddos went to bed......So that night after I fell asleep, I woke up around midnight in a panic. The wind outside was blowing really hard, and lighting was flashing left and right, I had not seen a storm like it. Then I heard a loud thud on our roof, and I knew it was tree branches from the HUGE, and I mean HUGE tree in our backyard (this tree is at least 50 years old). Then I heard another loud thud on on the roof, so I jumped out of bed, and started to overreact (something I tend to do). I made Nathan get up and we took the girls down to the basement and we all slept on the mattress downstairs, where it felt safe and quiet. So I was feeling better, ready to go back to sleep, until I got sick....really really sick. I went upstairs and threw up, and kept throwing up constantly...I could not stop every 5-10 minutes it hit. Because of my delicate situation (being 8 months pregnant) It was a pain I had never experienced before when sick with the flu. Every time I had to throw up I would have a very painful contraction that lasted forever, and everything would cramp up. It was horrible...finally around 7 a.m. I needed comfort, I needed Nathan to come give me a blessing. So down I went to wake him up and then he gave me a blessing, and a wonderful thing happened.....I was able to stop throwing up. I threw up 2 more times the next day and that was it, a lot better then every 10 minutes I will have to say. The other things I experienced that night/day were some tender, comforting little moments. After I first came up stairs feeling sick I was sitting on the couch in our front room, and all I wanted to do was cry! I then looked outside and snow started to fall, and I LOVE snow! It was such a cool moment to be sitting in that room, with the world asleep, to witness the first quiet snowfall of the season (the horrible wind storm by then had passed). Then the next day I never left my bed, Nathan watched the girls. As I was sleeping I felt a little soft pudgy hand on my face, and I knew it was Rachel...she said nothing, she sat very still by my side just stroking my face with her little hand.... again a very tender sweet moment.  Later that day the girls came in to read me some stories, and I felt overwhelmed with blessings. I have 2 soon to be 3 sweet little daughters, an incredible husband, and so much more. And a Heavenly Father who loves me, and I know he was looking out for me that night/day. 

I know that was really really long, but I had to write these things down so I will not forget. I now have a few pictures from our ward Halloween party, and our bingo game we played Sunday evening.....

Getting faces painted

The Rasbands, and their adorable daughter Lucy

The girls listening to some scary ghost stories told by a real witch :)

Playing our homemade Halloween bingo

Up the Canyon, & a few backyard pics...

The other night I went up the canyon with out the husband and kiddos. Nathan and his dad (bless their hearts) have been working around the clock to finish the guest suit downstairs before the baby arrives. So he was home with the girls working on the basement. It was nice to go up with out kids when your 8 months pregnant and can't really chase them around at this stage. My mom and dad came, along with my sister Catherine and her boyfriend Matt, along with my parents friend Matt, and Alex (my brother) with his new girlfriend. Anyway it was a nice evening, we chatted hung out by the fire, and just enjoyed the gorgeous scenery around us. Next weekend I think we will take the kiddos up the canyon to carve pumpkins:)!  I didn't get many pics of the canyon, but I do have a few pics of the girls enjoying a fall afternoon in the backyard with Nathan, and a few of Becca from her birthday breakfast.

 

Becca opening her princess watch Nathan gave her.

Our yummy spread up Millcreek Canyon

My cute mom making everything look picture perfect

Becca learning her words.

Grape Juice

The other day Nathan took Becca to go pick concord grapes. They brought them home and filled several large bowls with these grapes...overflowing would better describe the bowls. We took the grapes outside to our back patio Sunday afternoon and picked all of them off the vines. Becca and Ray loved this (along with eating more then they actually picked:). Nathan then turned them into wonderful, yummy, delicious grape juice......:) I love Concord grape juice probably more then any other juice I've tried. Our homemade batch did not disappoint! Though the girls did not share my same opinion,  all the more grape juice for me:). Anyway I took a few pictures to document this experience, sadly I didn't get any of the girls picking them:(.

 

Nathan being Nathan. He refuses to give a normal smile for a picture.. Thats ok babe

I love you just the way you are. And might I add you make one sexy chef:)

My little Becca turns 5....

On Saturday we celebrated Beccas birthday. It was a really nice evening. I can't believe she will be 5 tomorrow....where does the time go? Honestly? A few pictures

 

 

Me with my mom and sister :)

Cutest witches in all the village

I took the girls to Gardner Village this week. I'll be honest it was my first time going in years, and it was very cute! I will have to go back again with out little witches in tow to check out all the fun shops! A few pictures....